Films

Watch TRAILER for Basketball Doc MANCHILD: THE SCHEA COTTON STORY

[caption id="attachment_14133" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Manchild: The Schea Cotton Story[/caption] Check out the trailer for the documentary film Manchild: The Schea Cotton Story, about a Los Angeles basketball legend by the name of Schea Cotton, described as “the Lebron before Lebron”. Manchild will World Premiere at the upcoming 2016 LA Film Festival. In Manchild, directed by Eric “Ptah” Herbert, Baron Davis, Tyson Chandler, Elton Brand, Paul Pierce, Randy Moss and others share their tales about Cotton. Schea Cotton is the subject of one of the biggest mysteries in basketball’s history. Described as “the Lebron before Lebron,” Inglewood-native Cotton dominated the likes of Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce and was one of the most highly touted high school athletes of a pre-social media era. Yet he never made it to the NBA. What happened? NBA players, journalists, coaches and Cotton’s family recount with an almost pained nostalgia Cotton’s unmatched prowess as a player and the out-of-bounds emotions behind his story. First-time director Eric “Ptah” Herbert delivers a cautionary tale about the harsh reality of unfulfilled expectations. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S05f_MF2Dx0
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COMING SOON: Saban Films to Release Zack Whedon’s COME AND FIND ME

[caption id="attachment_14130" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] Aaron Paul[/caption] Saban Films has acquired writer/director Zack Whedon’s (“Halt and Catch Fire,” “Southland”) feature debut COME AND FIND ME, for release in the US. Come and Find Me, stars multiple Emmy™ Award Winner Aaron Paul (“Breaking Bad,” Eye in the Sky, Need for Speed) and Annabelle Wallis (Annabelle, X-Men: First Class). The Whedon penned script appeared on the 2012 Black List. The thriller follows David (Paul) who must track down the whereabouts of his mysterious girlfriend (Wallis), after he realizes she’s not who she was pretending to be. “It’s surprising that this is Zack’s first feature,” said Saban Films’ Bill Bromiley. “His filmmaking pulls together all the elements of a great thriller – intriguing characters, clever dialogue, and expert pacing. It makes sense that the script attracted such A-list talent. We love this film and know audiences will too.” Automatik’s Brian Kavanaugh-Jones (Midnight Special), Motion Picture Capital’s Leon Clarance (Sense8) and Oddfellows Entertainment’s Chris Ferguson (Afflicted) produced Come and Find Me. Laure Vaysse and Jo Monk executive produced. Zack Whedon is a producer on AMC’s “Halt and Catch Fire.” He has worked on “Southland” and “Rubicon” and also co-created Dr Horrible’s Sing Along Blog with brothers Joss and Jed. Out of the 2016 Cannes Film Festival, Saban Films recently acquired North American distribution rights to Walter Hill’s Tomboy, A Revenger’s Tale starring Michelle Rodriguez, Sigourney Weaver, Tony Shalhoub, Anthony LaPaglia, and Caitlin Gerard; Colm McCarthy’s The Girl with All the Gifts starring Gemma Arterton, Paddy Considine, Glenn Close, and Sennia Nanua; and John Michael McDonagh’s War on Everyone starring Michael Peña, Alexander Skarsgård, Theo James, and Tessa Thompson. Additional upcoming titles in the Saban Films slate include: Rob Zombie’s 31, starring Sheri Moon Zombie, Golden Globe® Nominee Malcolm McDowell, Jeff Daniel Phillips and Meg Foster; Renny Harlin’s action comedy Skiptrace, starring Jackie Chan and Johnny Knoxville; sci-fi horror film Cell starring Golden Globe® nominee John Cusack, Academy Award® nominee Samuel L. Jackson and Isabelle Fuhrman; and I Am Wrath with John Travolta. Since the company’s launch in 2014, Saban Films has released The Homesman, starring Academy Award® winners Tommy Lee Jones and Hilary Swank, which world premiered in Cannes; Tracers starring Taylor Lautner; Philip Martin’s The Forger starring John Travolta; American Heist starring Hayden Christensen, Academy Award® Winner Adrien Brody, Jordana Brewster, Tory Kittles and Aliaune “Akon” Thiam; Some Kind of Beautiful starring Pierce Brosnan, Salma Hayek and Jessica Alba; Man Up starring Simon Pegg and Lake Bell; MI-5 starring Kit Harington, Jennifer Ehle and Tuppence Middleton; Alex and Benjamin Brewer’s The Trust starring Nicolas Cage and Elijah Wood; and Tom Tykwer’s A Hologram for the King starring two-time Academy Award® winner Tom Hanks, which World Premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival with Saban partnering with Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions on the theatrical release.
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OPEN YOUR EYES Documentary to Premiere on HBO on July 18th

[caption id="attachment_14122" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] OPEN YOUR EYES[/caption] The documentary OPEN YOUR EYES which follows a husband and wife who are both blind in rural Nepal and the Seva Outreach Team that restores their sight will premiere on HBO on on July 18th. Told through the intimate lens of an elderly blind couple from Nepal, the film, executive produced by Laurene Powell Jobs, brings vital attention to cataract blindness and the shockingly cheap surgery (only three U.S. dollars!) that is restoring eyesight to thousands in rural poverty stricken areas. OPEN YOUR EYES is directed by Irene Taylor Brodsky (Beware the Slenderman, Peabody Award-winning Hear and Now) and produced by Dr. Larry Brilliant, the pioneering physician who served as the director of Google’s philanthropy division. The film follows the extraordinary journey of Manisara and Durga, an elderly couple in a remote mountain village in Nepal. Living for decades under the Himalayan sun, their eyes have slowly turned milky white with cataracts that have left them completely blind. When a team of eye specialists combing the mountainside village presents an opportunity for a free surgery to restore their sight, the couple begins a life-changing journey down the mountain to see again. Married for more than 50 years and living in the foothills of Nepal, they are no longer the industrious farmers they once were. Manisara peels turmeric root most days and Durga can’t navigate the warren of pathways around him nor can he feed his animals. They feel dependent on their family for even the most basic needs. There are no cars to transport them. Life has become static. A team of Nepali eye specialists combing the mountainside find them and urge them to come to the city for a chance to see again. A surgeon has come from Kathmandu, and the surgery is free. But the taste of defeat and growing old has made Manisara skeptical. And besides, who would even carry her down the mountain? Their youngest granddaughter plops herself in Manisara’s lap, and her grandmother starts running her hands over the little girl’s feet, her legs, her nose. Is she like me? Touching the child, Manisara connects her past to her future. Manisara and Durga are finally convinced. They set out for the eye hospital, tripping over goats and stones as they go, towards the distant city. They are carried, guided and then driven on a bewildering odyssey to restore their sight. They arrive at the hospital and hear scores of other patients also waiting. Everyone has come for a miracle. Cataract blindness affects millions of people in the developing world and yet can be cured for only a few dollars per patient. The Seva Foundation, an NGO co-founded by the film’s producer Dr. Larry Brilliant, is responsible for successfully restoring sight to 4 million blind people worldwide. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UxYSVvgPEJY
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Sundance Award-Winning Film MORRIS FROM AMERICA Gets A Summer Release

[caption id="attachment_14117" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] MORRIS FROM AMERICA[/caption] The Sundance Film Festival Award-winning film MORRIS FROM AMERICA will be available exclusively on DirecTV beginning July 7th. It will open theatrically in select cities on August 19th. Written and directed by acclaimed filmmaker Chad Hartigan (This is Martin Bonner), and starring Craig Robinson, Carla Juri, Lina Keller and Markees Christmas, Morris from America won two prizes at this year’s Sundance Film Festival, the Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award and a Special Jury Award for Robinson. A heartwarming and crowd-pleasing coming-of-age comedy with a unique spin, Morris from America centers on Morris Gentry (Markees Christmas, in an incredible breakout performance) a 13-year-old who has just relocated with his single father, Curtis (Craig Robinson) to Heidelberg, Germany. Morris, who fancies himself the next Notorious B.I.G., is a complete fish-out-of-water—a budding hip-hop star in an EDM world. To complicate matters further, Morris quickly falls hard for his cool, rebellious, 15-year-old classmate Katrin. Morris sets out against all odds to take the hip-hop world by storm and win the girl of his dreams. Morris from America will screen at the upcoming BAMcinemaFest 2016 in Brooklyn, New York.
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South African Doc THE JOURNEYMEN is Opening Night Film of Durban Film Festival

[caption id="attachment_14112" align="aligncenter" width="1788"] The Journeymen[/caption] The World Premiere of the South African documentary, The Journeymen, will be the opening night film of the 37th edition of the Durban International Film Festival. The Durban International Film Festival takes place from June16 to 26, 2016. [caption id="attachment_14111" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] The Journeymen[/caption] The Journeymen, the latest installment in the Twenty Journey project, is directed by Sean Metelerkamp and produced by filmmaker Jolynn Minnaar whose film, Unearthed, was one of the big hits at DIFF 2014. Filmed as part of the Twenty Journey project in 2014, the year in which South Africa celebrated 20 years of democracy and mourned Nelson Mandela’s death, The Journeymen chronicles the journey of three young South African photographers, Wikus de Wet, Sipho Mpongo and Sean Metelerkamp, as they travel 24 000km in a motorhome throughout South Africa, with GoPro cameras strapped to their chests, to explore the mood and feel the pulse of contemporary South Africa. From urban sprawls to dusty rural roads, the trio were driven by the question “Has Mandela’s vision of equality in a rainbow nation been achieved?” [caption id="attachment_14113" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] The Journeymen[/caption] The film answers this with a kaleidoscopic set of responses that are disturbing, beautiful, thought-provoking and, more than anything, movingly surreal. Said Acting Festival Director, Peter Machen, “It is highly appropriate that this intersectional portrait of our strange and beautiful country will screen on the fortieth anniversary of 16th June, 1976. The film is a portrait of a nation that was forever changed by the actions of the youth of Soweto, and screening it on this day will act as a tribute to the bravery of the tens of thousands of unnamed young people who helped build the road to our liberation.” [caption id="attachment_14093" align="aligncenter" width="1200"] The Journeymen[/caption] Machen continued, “The film shows the underlying demons of our troubled national soul but also its deep and profound beauty. Made with technology that is widely accessible, the film is also a vibrant call to arms for new modes of filmmaking and fresh approaches to narrative. We are very happy to be screening the world premiere of The Journeymen on the opening night of the 37th Edition of DIFF.” Director, Sean Metelerkamp said, “While we never set out to make a feature length documentary, looking back, through embracing new technology, we were able to capture our promising, contentious and confusing country as we went about exploring our respective photographic themes. We hope that this collaboration – between three guys from different cultural and racial backgrounds, united simply by a duty to set out and discover truly authentic South African stories – kickstarts conversations and interactions. As luck would have it, our film features a chance encounter with Sam Nzima, who photographed Hector Pietersen. We can’t think of a better way to honour Youth Day than to share our film with the country. “
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New Poster and Trailer for Academy Award Nominee Bill Plympton’s HITLER’S FOLLY

[caption id="attachment_13879" align="aligncenter" width="1202"] HITLER’S FOLLY[/caption] A new Poster and Trailer have been released for Academy Award Nominee Bill Plympton’s HITLER’S FOLLY, which will be available for free streaming online on June 3. Bill Plympton’s new feature mockumentary HITLER’S FOLLY, is described as a merciless satire in which Adolf Hitler is reimagined as a successful animator and artist. There will also be a FREE New York Premiere of HITLER’S FOLLY on Wednesday, June 1 at 7:00pm at SVA Theater (333 W 23rd St). After the screening, Plympton will also do special live drawings of a character from the film for interested fans. The screening is open to the public and all of Bill’s fans. RSVP is required for admittance. Seating is strictly on a first come first served basis on the night. A merciless satire from Academy Award nominee Bill Plympton, HITLER’S FOLLY explores what might have happened if Adolf Hitler’s art career had been more successful and instead of becoming an evil dictator, he was inspired to become an animator like Walt Disney. Using World War II footage, Hitler’s early artwork and Plympton’s signature animation, this dark mockumentary re-imagines history and explores Hitler’s unfulfilled animation career in the spirit of “The Producers” by Mel Brooks, “Der Fuhrer’s Face” by Walt Disney and “Blitz Wolf” by Tex Avery. The film stars Dana Ashbrook (Twin Peaks) as Josh, Nate Steinwachs as Hitler and Michael Sullivan – star of Greaser’s Palace (1972) by Robert Downey. HITLER’S FOLLY is directed, designed, animated, and written by Academy Award Nominee Bill Plympton. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VQorb4N2nBs
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THE ISLAND PRESIDENT’s Mohamed Nasheed, Granted Refugee Status in Britain

Mohamed Nasheed, the former president of the Maldives, and subject of the award winning documentary The Island President has reportedly been granted refugee status in Britain. Nasheed was in Britain on medical leave from a 13-year prison sentence on terrorism charges. The former president, Mohamed Nasheed, the country’s first democratically elected head of state, was jailed for ordering the military to arrest a sitting senior judge, which the court said was an abduction punishable under a section of an antiterrorism law. He was found guilty of terrorism and sentenced to thirteen years in prison. Mohamed Nasheed had earlier resigned the presidency in February 2012, after weeks of demonstrations and a mutiny by some police officers. The Island President, directed by Jon Shenk, is the story of President Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldives, a man confronting a problem greater than any other world leader has ever faced—the literal survival of his country and everyone in it. After bringing democracy to the Maldives after thirty years of despotic rule, Nasheed is now faced with an even greater challenge: as one of the most low-lying countries in the world, a rise of three feet in sea level would submerge the 1200 islands of the Maldives enough to make them uninhabitable. The Island President captures Nasheed’s first year of office, culminating in his trip to the Copenhagen Climate Summit in 2009, where the film provides a rare glimpse of the political horse-trading that goes on at such a top-level global assembly. Nasheed is unusually candid about revealing his strategies—leveraging the Maldives’ underdog position as a tiny country, harnessing the power of media, and overcoming deadlocks through an appeal to unity with other developing nations. When hope fades for a written accord to be signed, Nasheed makes a stirring speech which salvages an agreement. Despite the modest size of his country, Mohamed Nasheed has become one of the leading international voices for urgent action on climate change. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x10EbJymLz4
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Showtime to Produce John Belushi Documentary

Showtime will once again team up with acclaimed filmmakers R.J. Cutler and John Battsek on a feature-length documentary about the extraordinary life and times of comic legend John Belushi. Showtime previously collaborated with R.J. Cutler (The September Issue, The World According to Dick Cheney) and John Battsek (Searching For Sugar Man, The Tillman Story) on the successful Peabody Award-winning documentary Listen To Me Marlon. For the first time, Belushi’s widow Judith Belushi Pisano has agreed to cooperate with the making of a film about the late comedian’s life, and provided the exclusive photo of John from her private collection. Directed by Cutler and produced by Battsek, the documentary is set to begin production in the fall, with long-time Belushi collaborator Sean Daniel serving as executive producer along with Bill Couturie. Cutler will also produce. The film will be produced in association with Sky Atlantic. “Belushi was one of my very first heroes. At a time when film, television, and music were undergoing tectonic shifts within American culture, he was at the center of it all,” said Cutler. “At that moment, he had the number one show on television, the number one film at the box office, and the number one record on the charts. We plan to explore his unique genius and how his creative influence is still making an impact to this moment.” “This is a film I have wanted to make for many years as John was a great hero of mine. Having Judy cooperation for the first time on a feature documentary of his life is very special and means we know we will be making a truly authentic film,” commented Battsek. “We plan to assemble a deep and three-dimensional look into the life of a man of great complexity and talent who went on to become an American comedic icon.” “John Battsek and I have been discussing the possibility of making this film for over a decade,” added Judy Belushi. ” I’m thrilled to finally embark upon that journey together with him and director RJ Cutler. Passion Pictures is poised to make the definitive documentary on John Belushi – a man who not only had a profound effect on the comedy landscape of America, but also made an indelible mark on the social fabric of his time which continues to reverberate today.”
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The LENNY COOKE Documentary Headed to VOD on June 7th

[caption id="attachment_14042" align="aligncenter" width="1600"] LENNY COOKE[/caption] LENNY COOKE the documentary by the Safdie brothers, Josh and Benny, about the once promising star high school basketball player, will be released on VOD June 7th via Under the Milky Way. In 2001, Lenny Cooke was the most hyped high school basketball player in the country, ranked above future greats LeBron James, Amar’e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony. A decade later, Lenny has never played a minute in the NBA. In this quintessentially American documentary, filmmaking brothers Joshua and Benny Safdie take a candid look and track the unfulfilled destiny of a man for whom superstardom was only out of reach. LENNY COOKE marks the first feature-length documentary by the Safdie brothers, who directed the Independent Spirit Award and IFP Gotham Award-nominated HEAVEN KNOWS WHAT, and received the John Cassavetes Award at Spirits for DADDY LONGLEGS. The film was executive produced by two time NCAA champion and Chicago Bull Joakim Noah. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ne61w4R20QE
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Film Review: ma ma Starring Penlope Cruz

[caption id="attachment_13820" align="alignnone" width="1000"] ma ma[/caption] Ma ma is set in Madrid, Spain, and stars Academy Award®-winning actress Penelope Cruz as Magda, a woman recently diagnosed with breast cancer who’s also going through a separation from her self-centered husband Raul (Alex Brendemuhl), who left her for one of his students. It’s a few of several devastating hardships Magda endures in Spanish director Julio Medem’s film, written and produced by himself, Cruz and Alvaro Longoria. After a few months of ignoring a lump on her right breast, Magda decides to get it checked out. Her doctor, Julian (Asier Etxeandia), biopsies the lump for cancer. Shortly afterwards, much to her dismay, he delivers the terrible news that she indeed has cancer, and will require grueling chemotherapy sessions to shrink the nodules before having a mastectomy. Each chemo session is accompanied by a glaring white background that distracts the viewer more than adding anything to the scenes. But the wonderful cinematography and camera work pull you back in. Looking to for a bit of escapism, Magda attends her son Dani’s (Teo Planell) football game, where she meets a man, Arturo (Luis Tosar), a talent scout for the famed football (soccer) team, Real Madrid. Arturo is interested in recruiting her son, a standout player on his youth squad, in Real Madrid’s junior program, which helps develop young talent into future professionals. While there, Arturo receives unimaginable news of his own, that there has been a car accident, which has claimed the life of his daughter, and left his wife in a comma. Magda accompanies Arturo to the hospital, subsequently visiting him while undergoing her own chemo treatments, which she hasn’t divulge to anyone at the time. However, she eventually tells Arturo, who winds up losing his wife, and the two become each other’s support system. As she recovers from her operation, and is in the clear for the time being, they predictably fall in love, and form the perfect family unit. But cruel misfortune steps in again on the hard-luck Magda, as Dr. Julian, who belts out beautiful, romantic songs in a bedside attempt to soothed her, informs his patient that the cancer has spread to her other breast, and metastasized to wall of her lungs. Subsequently, the doctor delivers a gut-wrenching prognosis of only six months to live. What follows is an over-the-top attempt of series of events intent on extracting more tears from movie-goers, with the final scene cumulating in another foreseeable outcome. Overall, though, ‘Ma ma’ is worth seeing despite its campy, overdramatic feel—which is only exaggerated by a few scenes in which beating hearts are splashed across the screen for shameless, emotional effects—because of its positive message of strength, courage, and hope amidst tragedy. ‘Ma ma’ opens in New York City on May 20th, and in Los Angeles and Miami on May 27th, with national expansion to follow. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxtB15K-nN4
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DADDY DON’T GO Exec Produced by Omar Epps & Malik Yoba to Debut on VIMEO on Father’s Day

DADDY DON’T GO

The documentary Daddy Don’t Go which follows the lives of four young fathers as they struggle to navigate parenthood, will debut on Vimeo, on Father’s Day.

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Robert De Niro, TANGERINE, Honored at 27th GLAAD Media Awards

Robert De Niro, the film TANGERINE, were among the best in film, television, and journalism honored at the 27th GLAAD Media Awards hosted by Laverne Cox, at the Waldorf Astoria New York on Saturday. The GLAAD Media Awards recognize and honor media for their fair, accurate and inclusive representations of the LGBT community and the issues that affect their lives. The GLAAD Media Awards also fund GLAAD’s work to amplify stories from the LGBT community and issues that build support for acceptance. At the ceremony, Academy Award-winning actress and surprise guest Jennifer Lawrence presented Robert De Niro with GLAAD’s Excellence in Media Award, which is presented to media professionals who, through their work, have increased the visibility and understanding of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender community. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5zm67vgX1w In his acceptance speech, De Niro celebrated the Supreme Court’s landmark decision for marriage equality, while cautioning to “also remember oppressive laws like the ones in North Carolina that let us know the struggle continues and challenges us to be vigilant and aggressive in protecting all our rights.” De Niro continued, “Thank you for this honor, I’m proud to stand with you, I’m GLAAD.” Tangerine (Magnolia Pictures) was given the award for Outstanding Film – Limited Release. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ALSwWTb88ZU The complete list of GLAAD Media Award recipients announced Saturday in New York. Excellence in Media Award: Robert De Niro (presented by Jennifer Lawrence) Ally Award: Mariah Carey (presented by Lee Daniels) Outstanding TV Journalism – Newsmagazine: “Bruce Jenner: The Interview” 20/20 (ABC) [accepted by: Diane Sawyer, Caitlyn Jenner, and David Sloan, senior executive producer] Outstanding TV Journalism Segment: “Interview with Jim Obergefell” Anderson Cooper 360 (CNN) [accepted by: U.S. Supreme Court plaintiff Jim Obergefell] Outstanding Magazine Overall Coverage: Cosmopolitan [accepted by: Laura Brounstein, special projects director] Outstanding Film – Limited Release: Tangerine (Magnolia Pictures) Outstanding Individual Episode: “The Prince of Nucleotides” Royal Pains (USA Network) Outstanding Digital Journalism – Multimedia: “Stopping HIV? The Truvada Revolution” Vice Reports (Vice.com) Outstanding Newspaper Article: “Cold Case: The Murders of Cosby and Jackson” by Dianna Wray (Houston Press) Outstanding Magazine Article: “Behind Brazil’s Gay Pride Parades, a Struggle with Homophobic Violence” by Oscar Lopez (Newsweek) Outstanding Digital Journalism Article: “This Is What It’s Like To Be An LGBT Syrian Fleeing For Your Life” by J. Lester Feder (Buzzfeed.com) SPANISH-LANGUAGE NOMINEES Outstanding Daytime Program Episode: “¿El marido de mi padre o yo?” Caso Cerrado (Telemundo) Outstanding TV Journalism – Newsmagazine: TIE: “Amor que rompe barreras” Un Nuevo Día (Telemundo) and “En cuerpo ajeno” Aquí y Ahora (Univision) Outstanding TV Journalism Segment: “Víctimas de abusos” Noticiero Univision (Univision) Outstanding Digital Journalism – Multimedia: “Campeones de la igualdad” (Univision.com)
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